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As Batman turns 75, DC plans weekly comic book

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dark Knight's 75th anniversary won't be hiding in the shadows of Gotham.

DC Entertainment will mark the milestone for Batman next spring with a weekly comic book, "Batman Eternal," written by Scott Snyder, along with Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley and James Tynion IV, with illustrations done by artist Jason Fabok.

Snyder said the book would "set the stage for a new Gotham and new characters and a new set of stories that will take Batman into 2015. We want this to be a place where you get to tell a story about anything you want in Gotham, so long as we're also moving this big story forward in the background."

The publisher also said Thursday, ahead of the start of the annual New York Comic Con, that it will release a 75th anniversary edition of "Detective Comics" No. 27 in honor of Bruce Wayne's first appearance in May 1939, as part of its current series.

The Bob Kane and Bill Finger-created character's origin will get a "modern-day retelling" in the 104-page issue by Brad Meltzer and Bryan Hitch, along with new stories and art from Snyder, Frank Miller, Sean Murphy, Peter J. Tomasi and Guillem March, Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen, Gregg Hurwitz and Neal Adams.

The issue, out Jan. 8, will also lay the framework for new creative team Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, who take over the book in the spring.

"We want to bring him closer to his roots and be more of a street-level type of hero," Manapul said about their plans. "His super heroics will still be present, but the investigative part of Batman will be at the forefront."